


Daybreak and Rebirth

by squidbeaks



Category: Persona 3, Persona 5, Persona Series
Genre: Akechi Goro Lives, Established Relationship, M/M, Multi, Persona 3 Spoilers, Persona 5 Spoilers, also minato and akira and goro are trans bc i still make the rules, if you want protagshipping go somewhere else, p3mc is minato, p5mc is akira, sorry i make the rules, this isnt protagshipping
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-08-12
Updated: 2018-08-26
Packaged: 2019-06-26 06:02:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,244
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15657225
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/squidbeaks/pseuds/squidbeaks
Summary: Kurusu Akira returns to Tokyo and meets a young man, not so different from himself, who has some secrets to hide.





	1. Chapter 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mitsuru gets an unexpected visitor.
> 
> And so does Akira.

_ 2 years ago _

 

    Kirijo Mitsuru sat at her desk and glanced behind her at the view of Tokyo through the window that took up almost the entirety of the back wall of her office. It was late afternoon, which meant the sun would soon start peeking out from behind the skyscrapers. She closed the red silk curtains that accompanied the window and turned her desk lamp on. She had a lot of work to do, which was normal. Mitsuru had inherited the Kirijo Group after her father’s death, and began working full time immediately after her graduation. That had been the plan, at least. Graduation day brought some unexpected events, to say the least. Her close friend and trusted leader fell asleep, and never woke up.

    It had been almost 9 years since then. She had talked to psychiatrists and therapists to help get through the grief, but in the back of her mind she knew he was still out there. His body may have passed, but now his soul was trapped; the only line of defense between between the very incarnation of Death and Erebus, a creature manifested by mankind’s wish for death and destruction. Erebus would always return, and there was nothing they could do about it. 

    Mitsuru’s train of thought was interrupted by her phone ringing.

“Kirijo speaking.”

“Ah, Kirijo-san!” Mitsuru’s secretary’s voice rang through the speaker. “There’s someone here to see you. We tried to set up an appointment but she insisted it was of utmost importance.”

Mitsuru had heard this tactic before. Solicitors would feign urgent circumstances but all it ever did was waste her time. “Who is she with? Did she give you a name at all?”

“Yes, she says her name is Elizabeth. She won’t give us her last name. Should we escort her out?”

    Mitsuru almost dropped the phone in her shock. The last time she had seen Elizabeth was during an encounter with several new Persona users, where she vowed to return with the seal broken and their friend freed from his eternal slumber. 

“Kirijo-san?”

“O-oh, yes. My apologies. Please send her up to my office immediately.”

“Yes ma’am.”

_ Click. _

    Mitsuru hung up the phone, hands shaking. This couldn’t be true. It was too good to be true. What if she was here to say it was impossible to release him from the seal? Thoughts raced through her head at a mile a minute before the front doors creaked open and her secretary stepped in.

“Elizabeth-san is here, ma’am.”

“Thank you. Please hold any calls until we are finished.”

“Of course,” she stepped aside and opened the door for their guest. 

 

    “Well, Mitsuru-san. It’s been quite a while, hasn’t it?”

    Mitsuru slowly stepped toward the silver haired woman, palms clammy. “Have a seat, Elizabeth,” she gestured towards a pair of couches in the center of the room. The pair sat across from each other with the air thick with silence. Mitsuru shifted in her seat, avoiding the other’s gaze.

“Elizabeth,” her usual confident demeanour shattered, “why are you here?”

 

~~~

 

_ Present Day _

 

    Kurusu Akira woke with a start.  _ “Next stop: Shibuya station. Next stop: Shibuya station.” _ The automated narration of the subway echoed in the empty train car. It was a year since he had last been in Tokyo. A year since the trial of Shido Masayoshi came to a close. A year since he had last seen his friends; his family. Of course they stayed in touch online, but it wasn’t the same.

    Akira’s parents rarely left him leave the house after he returned home. Before his arrest 2 years ago, they were fairly distant, but now they treated him like he didn’t exist. School wasn’t much better. His classmates stared and whispered like he was a zoo animal.  _ “Hey, isn’t that the kid from the Shido trial?” “I heard he was the leader of the Phantom Thieves.” “I knew him before he went to Tokyo. He was always a creepy guy.” _

    Graduation brought great relief to him, but he knew even in adult life he wouldn’t be able to go anywhere without hearing  _ “Don’t I know you from somewhere?” _ followed by his  _ “Oh, no. I just have one of those faces, I guess,” _ complete with a fake smile and friendly tone. 

    Morgana shifted in Akira’s bag, probably trying to stretch. “Are we almost there?”

“Yeah, just hold on a little longer.”

“Your bag’s so small! Couldn’t you have brought a bigger one?”

Akira sighed and pulled out his phone. He had a text from an unknown number.

“This is Sae. Call me before you get to Leblanc. Thanks.”

    He paused and then dialed her number. Sae wouldn’t want to call him just to say hi, he was going to see her when he met up with everyone else, and she wouldn’t have gone through the trouble of getting his number if it wasn’t urgent. 

_ Ring...ring...click. _

_ “This is Nijima.” _ Sae’s familiar yet firm voice soothed his nerves a bit, but not by much.

“Hey Sae, this is Akira. You wanted to talk to me?”

_ “Are you at Leblanc yet?” _

“No, I’m still on the train.”

_ “Okay, good. Sorry about such short notice, but there’s someone who wanted to talk to you about your testimony at the trial. He said he was from the Kirijo Group.” _

Great; even before he could settle in he had to talk to some businessman about Shido. He sighed, “Alright. When did he say he wanted to meet?”

_ “He’s at Leblanc right now.” _

“Oh.”

_ “Don’t be nervous - he seemed like a nice guy. Pretty young, too. I doubt it’s anything huge.” _

“Okay. ...See you later.”

_ “Oh, I have something else to tell you,” _ Sae’s tone shifted.

“Yeah?”

_ “......” _

“Sae?”

_ “...Sorry, it’s nothing. Thanks again,” _ she hung up before he could say anything.

    Akira leaned back into the seat and groaned. More trial bullshit, on the first day of his visit, no less. He’d just have to deal with this quickly. There’s nothing new they could throw at him, this far after the trial ended. He took a deep breath, preparing for whatever was to come. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> in case you havent caught on from the tags and from the first part, this is a minato revival au. im bending the rules of canon a fuckton so dont get mad if something doesnt match up  
> like im kinda picking and choosing what to use from arena and other spinoffs  
> the timelines pretty fucked and i know it is but im lazy 
> 
> also i gave elizabeth a new outfit and ill update this once i draw it
> 
> chapter 2 is pretty far along (i actually started ch 2 first) but needs some serious work but ill try to have it up soon ish but dont quote me on that
> 
> anyway! constructive criticism is welcome and i hope you enjoy the story <3


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Akira returns home and has an unusual encounter. 
> 
> Mitsuru gets some news from Elizabeth.

    Akira pushed the cafe door open, and heard the familiar ringing of the overhead bell as the scents of coffee and curry infiltrated his senses. A very comforting smell, he always thought. Sitting alone on one of the bar stools was a young man with short blue hair. The man turned towards the door and brushed his bangs out of his face.    
    “You must be Kurusu Akira,” he smiled. “I’m Shiomi Sakuya. Sorry for intruding during your visit back.”   
    Akira blinked in surprise and glanced over to Sojiro, who replied with a slight shrug. Sakuya shifted in his seat.   
    “I’m from the Kirijo Group. I believe Niijima told you I’d be here,” his expression changed to a more serious tone. “May I speak to you privately?” The store stood in silence for a moment before Sojiro spoke up.

    “I think it’s time for me to head home now anyway. Remember to lock up, kid.” He gave Akira a concerned look and left the empty cafe.    
    Sakuya moved to one of the booths and pulled out a file from his bag. “Take a seat,” he motioned towards the spot across from him. Akira sat down, slightly wary of the blue-haired man. From here, he could get a closer look at Sakuya’s face. His bangs covered the right side of his face, highlighting his left eye and the large freckle underneath it. He had septum and lip piercings, contrasting his professional looking suit.    
    “Okay, Kurusu-kun. I’m going to list some words and phrases and you let me know if any of them sound familiar, alright?”

    Akira nodded, still cautious. “Okay.”   
    Sakuya cleared his throat and began to read off of a paper in the file. “The Midnight Channel.” he looked up at Akira, looking for confirmation of some kind. Akira shook his head.   
“The Dark Hour. Tartarus. Apathy Syndrome.”   
    Akira remained silent.

“Hm, alright,” Sakuya swiftly jotted down a couple notes. “Now, these are the ones that actually matter.”   
    He stared into Akira’s eyes, unblinking and unwavering. “Kurusu Akira, are you familiar with Shadows and Personas?”   
    The younger boy stared back in surprise.   
“Ah. As expected.” Sakuya leaned back into the back of the booth seat and slipped back into his original demeanor. “We suspected Shadow activity here last year, and your reaction confirms them.” He chewed the end of his pen, appearing to consider multiple options.   
“Kurusu-kun, you seem to be very trustworthy. We may have more in common than you think.” Sakuya sighs, “My partner won’t be very happy about me telling you our true intentions without him there. I am actually from an organization known to only a handful of people in this country-or the world, even. We are the Shadow Operatives. Our mission is to track Shadow activity and survey the situation. We prefer not to get directly involved in our cases, as strong Shadow activity usually brings about new Persona users.”   
    Akira finally speaks up, “What do you need from me?”   
“We only require your information.”   
“Then can I ask you questions, too?”   
“Of course,” Sakuya smiles.   
“Are there other Persona users out there?”   
Sakuya nods. “There were, at least. We are currently unaware of any active Persona users. As the threat of Shadows fade, so do Personas.”   
    Akira lets out a small noise of understanding, and the two remain silent for a moment before Sakuya begins again.   
    “I’ve already asked you about all of the terms the Operatives requires me to, but I personally have a few more. Do you know about the Velvet Room?”

    Akira hesitates. “Yeah. Why?”

“I was also a guest of theirs, during my time as a Persona user. They only assist those whose powers are unique; Wildcards, they call them. ‘The number zero; empty, yet infinite at the same time,’” Sakuya leans forward, chin resting on his hand. “We have more in common than you’d think, Kurusu-kun.”

    The blue haired man smiles. “I think that I have all the information I need. Thank you for your cooperation,” he packs his papers into his bag and heads for the exit.

“I hope I was able to help, Shiomi-san.”

“You helped us immensely, don’t you worry.” He stops at the door and turns around, “Oh, and you can call me Minato. Arisato Minato.”

 

~~~

 

_ 2 years ago _

 

    Elizabeth crosses her legs, hands folded neatly in her lap. “I am sure you have a guess in regards to the reason behind my sudden visit, and I am sure your thinking is correct.”

Mitsuru clutches the fabric of the couch, gaze towards the floor, “Please, just tell me what’s going on.”

“I have been traveling throughout the world, following any and all traces of Shadow and Persona activity. Little did I realize, the answer was back where it all began. After I left, my older sister Margaret took over the duties of attending the Velvet Room, and those duties were recently passed down to our youngest sibling, Lavenza. Lavenza is an expert on the Compendium and all Personas kept there. She knew of my mission and contacted me about something odd she had noticed. Usually all the Personas are calm within the Compendium, but she told me that every year on a certain date, two particular Personas exhibit unusual and violent behavior; Messiah and Orpheus.”

    Mitsuru looks up at the silver haired woman.

“Lavenza told me their behavior is unheard of; even for a Persona belonging to a guest as powerful as Minato. She believes that these are no mere Personas; she thinks they may be remnants of a human soul.”

“...What are you trying to say?”

“When Minato became the seal, it is possible his soul was split into various parts. My theory is that bringing all these parts together may be enough to bring him back.”

“......”

“Mitsuru-san?”

“Yes, I-I’m sorry. This is just a lot to process right now.”

“I have almost everything prepared. I just need the last piece, which I suspect you or your comrades will have.”

“Which is...?”

“Minato’s MP3 player. It never left his side, so it is very likely that a fragment of his soul resides in it.”

    Mitsuru sat silently for a moment, recalling the painful memories of Minato’s funeral and having to divide up his belongings among the members of SEES. Junpei kept his sword. Aigis kept his Evoker. In the end, everyone agreed that Akihiko should keep the music player. He was the closest to him, as they were dating before Minato’s passing.

“Akihiko has it. I don’t know how to get him to give it up; even for a moment. I can’t tell him we might be able to bring back Minato. I don’t want to get his hopes up.”

“That is understandable. Do you know where Akihiko-san keeps it?”

“...A chest. Next to his bed. It’s where he keeps all of his old gear and mementos of SEES.”

“Is it locked?”

“I-I don’t think so - wait, I can’t just take it. If he ever thought he’d lost it, he wouldn’t be able to forgive himself.” Even after all these years, Akihiko had still never fully recovered from the loss. Well, none of them had; but he had taken it the hardest.

“Don’t worry. The summoning would barely take a moment in this world’s time. He would never realize anything had happened,” Elizabeth smiled reassuringly. “Now then, shall we begin?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i originally had some p1/2 references in the minato/akira scene but it didnt sound right so i had to cut it ):  
> p5 joker, meet p2 joker
> 
> anyway! again constructive criticism and suggestions etc are always welcome!! thank you for reading!


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